The New Homefront
Isn't it ironic?
At the age of 18 I tentatively registered for the selective service, but never in my life considered military service as an option for me. I always considered myself too small or too weak or too shy to make it in the military. That was for the tough guys, the guys who played sports, got into fights, and picked on guys like me.
Now, at the age of 36, I find myself married to a fine young woman who's loving, caring, sweet, adorable, and tough as nails. And she has just been called off to serve her country in Iraq.
Growing up in the early seventies, Vietnam was on everyone's mind and I was too young to know what was going on. But I was a boy, in a non-military family in the Midwest, and everyone knew that the draft was a possibility as I grew older. Like many Americans, my family was not familiar with military service. Sure, my grandfather worked for a company that became a government contractor during WWII and he proudly did his work in the service of our country.
But that was here, on the homefront, where it's safe because people like my wife took the initiative to play that role - the role of protector of freedom and of our way of life. Without these brave volunteers, who knows where we'd be today. Americans have grown complacent, feeling that there are enough servicemen and women to protect us.
My wife has introduced me to many things throughout our relationship. I have taken up a martial art and started working out on a regular basis. I have participated in military reenactments, learning from seasoned reenactors and veterans what it means to serve our country. I have even gone to drill with her at her National Guard unit and had the opportunity to get to know her Guard buddies.
Through these interactions, I've come to realize that it's not the tough guy on the playground or the jock or the guy who didn't finish school who joins the military. It's the person who cares, and has a sense of patriotism and a sense of responsibility to give back to the country that has afforded us so many freedoms.
So now, as my sweetheart is heading off to war, I am looking for ways that I can help, here on the homefront, to boost morale and to bring our boys and girls safely back home.
Paul
At the age of 18 I tentatively registered for the selective service, but never in my life considered military service as an option for me. I always considered myself too small or too weak or too shy to make it in the military. That was for the tough guys, the guys who played sports, got into fights, and picked on guys like me.
Now, at the age of 36, I find myself married to a fine young woman who's loving, caring, sweet, adorable, and tough as nails. And she has just been called off to serve her country in Iraq.
Growing up in the early seventies, Vietnam was on everyone's mind and I was too young to know what was going on. But I was a boy, in a non-military family in the Midwest, and everyone knew that the draft was a possibility as I grew older. Like many Americans, my family was not familiar with military service. Sure, my grandfather worked for a company that became a government contractor during WWII and he proudly did his work in the service of our country.
But that was here, on the homefront, where it's safe because people like my wife took the initiative to play that role - the role of protector of freedom and of our way of life. Without these brave volunteers, who knows where we'd be today. Americans have grown complacent, feeling that there are enough servicemen and women to protect us.
My wife has introduced me to many things throughout our relationship. I have taken up a martial art and started working out on a regular basis. I have participated in military reenactments, learning from seasoned reenactors and veterans what it means to serve our country. I have even gone to drill with her at her National Guard unit and had the opportunity to get to know her Guard buddies.
Through these interactions, I've come to realize that it's not the tough guy on the playground or the jock or the guy who didn't finish school who joins the military. It's the person who cares, and has a sense of patriotism and a sense of responsibility to give back to the country that has afforded us so many freedoms.
So now, as my sweetheart is heading off to war, I am looking for ways that I can help, here on the homefront, to boost morale and to bring our boys and girls safely back home.
Paul
posted by Paul at 3:55 PM
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